Teen Car Insurance Discounts to Save You Money

Teenagers are statistically more likely to be involved in a car accident than any other group of drivers. Because of their increased risks, teens are more expensive to insure. Unfortunately, that usually means that their parents are stuck with high premiums for several years until the teen leaves home and begins paying for insurance on his own.

Luckily, there are some ways that you can reduce the cost of insurance for your teen. You can obtain affordable coverage by taking advantage of the following discounts.

Good student discounts

If your teen has good grades, he or she can get up to 10 percent off the annual insurance price by submitting transcripts to the insurance company. The required GPA is usually around 3.0, but some insurance companies may have different requirements.

Multi-car discounts

If you put your teen’s vehicle on your regular auto policy, you should be able to qualify for a discount for having multiple vehicles. It’s usually more affordable to carry all of the vehicles on a single policy than multiple policies for this reason.

Multi-policy discounts

Most insurance companies offer discounts to people with multiple types of insurance through a single company. You can bundle your home, auto, life, and other products into a single insurer. When your child goes to college, she can get renter’s insurance to cover her possessions and provide a multi-policy discount later in life.

Advanced driver’s education

An insurance company will usually offer a discount to individuals who complete a defensive driving course or other form of advanced driver’s education. Your teen can sign up with one through the school, the DMV, or your local library and submit a certificate of completion to get the discount.

Low mileage discounts

Insurance companies assume that drivers will put at least 10,000 miles per year on their vehicles. Individuals who drive much less can provide odometer readings to enjoy a substantial discount. Because most teens aren’t making long trips on their own, they should be able to qualify for this discount.

In addition to the above discounts, you can also save money on your teen’s policy by being careful about the car they drive. When choosing a teenager’s first car, it’s a good idea to pick one that’s equipped with safety features and anti-theft devices; the car should be affordable to repair and replace as well. Try to avoid sports cars and luxury vehicles, which both cost more to insure than other types of vehicles.

You can also pare down the costs of coverage by altering the policy itself. Increase the deductible or carry a liability-only policy. This will provide less protection for the vehicle if it’s involved in an accident, but it fulfills your legal obligations and keeps the policy affordable. If your teen is driving an older-model vehicle, full coverage may not be necessary anyway. You can use the money that you save on car insurance to start a savings account for the teen’s college fund or set it aside to buy a new car in a few years when rates go down.